Real Flame Ashley 48 in. Electric Fireplace in Blackwash7100EBW The Home Depot

Ancient fire pits were sometimes built from the floor, in caves, or at the center of a hut or home. Evidence of prehistoric, man-made fires is present on all five inhabited continents. The drawback of premature indoor fire pits was that they produced hazardous or annoying smoke within the dwelling.Fire pits developed into elevated hearths in buildings, but ventilation smoke relied on open windows or openings in roofs. The great hall typically needed a centrally situated hearth, where an open fire burned with all the smoke rising to the port in the roof. Louvers were developed throughout the Middle Ages to enable the roof vents to be coated so snow and rain wouldn't enter.

Also throughout the Middle Ages, smoke canopies were devised to prevent smoke from spreading through an area and vent it outside via a wall or roof. These could be put against rock walls, instead of taking up the middle of the room, and this enabled smaller chambers to be heated.Chimneys were devised in northern Europe from the 11th or 12th centuries and mostly fixed the issue of fumes, more reliably venting smoke outside. They made it possible to provide the fireplace a draft, and made it feasible to put fireplaces in numerous rooms in buildings handily. They didn't come into general use immediately, however, since they were expensive to develop and maintain.

In 1678 Prince Rupert, nephew of Charles I, raised the grate of the fireplace, improving the airflow and venting system. Benjamin Franklin developed a convection chamber for the fireplace that greatly improved the efficiency of fireplaces and wood stoves. He also enhanced the airflow by pulling air from a cellar and venting a lengthier area on very top. In the later 18th century, Count Rumford designed a fireplace using a tall, shallow firebox which was better at drawing up the smoke and from the construction. The shallow design improved greatly the quantity of radiant warmth projected to the space. Rumford's layout is the basis for modern fireplaces.

Rather it depended on simple designs with little unnecessary ornamentation. In the 1890s the Aesthetic movement gave way to the Arts and Crafts movement, where the emphasis was placed on supplying quality gems. Stone fireplaces at this time were a symbol of prosperity, which to a degree is still the notion today.A fireplace is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for its relaxing ambiance that they create and for heating a space. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending upon the design.

Historically they were used for heating a dwelling, cooking, and heating water for domestic and laundry uses. A fireplace may have the following: a foundation, a hearth, a firebox, a mantelpiece; a chimney (utilized in laundry and kitchen fireplaces), a grate, a lintel, a lintel bar, house overmantel, a damper, a smoke room, a neck, a flue, and a chimney filter or afterburner.

Related Images with Real Flame Ashley 48 in. Electric Fireplace in Blackwash7100EBW The Home Depot

Fireplace TV Stands Electric Fireplaces The Home Depot

On the exterior there is frequently a corbeled brick crown, where the casting courses of brick function as a drip route to keep rainwater from running down the outside walls. A cap, hood, or shroud serves to keep rainwater out of the exterior of the chimney; rain at the chimney is a much larger problem in chimneys lined with impervious flue tiles or metallic liners than with the traditional masonry chimney, that soaks up all but the rain. A few chimneys have a spark arrestor integrated into the cap or crown.

The EPA writes"Smoke may smell good, but it is not good for you.

Types of fireplacesManufactured fireplaces are made with sheet metal or glass flame boxes.Electric fireplaces could be built-in replacements for gas or wood or retrofit with log inserts or electric fireboxes.A couple of types are, wall mounted electric fireplaces, electric fireplace stoves, electric mantel fireplaces and fixed or free standing gas fireplaces.

In the United States, several states and local businesses have laws restricting these types of fireplaces. Additionally, there are air quality control problems because of the amount of moisture that they release in the room air, and oxygen detector and carbon monoxide sensors are safety essentials. Direct vent fireplaces are fueled by liquid propane or natural gas. They are totally sealed from the area that is heated, and port all exhaust gasses into the exterior of the structure.

Freestanding Electric Fireplaces Electric Fireplaces The Home Depot

AccessoriesFor the interior, common in recent Western cultures include grates, fireguards, log boxes, andirons, bark baskets, along with fire puppies, all which cradle gas and quicken burning. A grate (or flame grate) is a frame, usually of iron bars, to retain fuel to your fire. Heavy metal firebacks are sometimes used to capture and re-radiate warmth, to safeguard the rear of the fireplace, and as decoration. Fenders are low metallic frames set in front of the fireplace to include embers, soot and ash.

Over time, the purpose of fireplaces has transformed from one of necessity to one of visual interest. Early ones were more fire pits compared to contemporary fireplaces. They were used for warmth on chilly days and nights, in addition to for cooking. They also functioned as a gathering place inside the house. These fire pits were generally based within a room, allowing more people to gather around it.

Dimplex Essex Electric Fireplace Reviews Wayfair

Wildon Home ® Sheldon Infrared Media Electric Fireplace Reviews Wayfair

Many defects were found in ancient fireplace designs. The most renowned fireplace designers of the period were the Adam Brothers. They perfected a style of fireplace design which was used for generations. It had been smaller, more brightly lit, with an emphasis on the quality of the substances used in their construction, instead of their dimensions.

By the 1800s newest fireplaces were made up of two parts, the surround and the add. The surround comprised of the mantlepiece and sides supports, usually in wood, marble or granite. The fit was where the fire burnt, and was constructed of cast iron frequently backed with decorative tiles. As well as providing heat, the fireplaces of the Victorian era were thought to add a cozy ambiance into houses.

Wildon Home ® Sheldon Infrared Media Electric Fireplace Reviews Wayfair Video

Some fireplace units incorporate a blower which transports more of the fireplace's heat to the air via convection, resulting in a more evenly heated area and a decrease heating load. Fireplace efficiency is also increased by means of a fireback, a sheet of metal which sits behind the fire and reflects heat back into the room. Firebacks are traditionally made from cast iron, but are also made from stainless steel. Efficiency is a complex notion though with open hearth fireplaces. Most efficacy tests consider just the effect of heating of the air. An open fireplace is not, and never was, intended to warm the atmosphere. A fireplace with a fireback is a radiant heater, and has done so since the 15th century. The best way to gauge the output of a fireplace is if you notice you're turning the thermostat down or up.

Most elderly fireplaces have a relatively low efficiency rating. Standard, modern, wood-burning masonry fireplaces though have an efficiency rating of at least 80% (legal minimum necessity such as in Salzburg/Austria). To improve efficiency, fireplaces can also be altered by inserting special heavy fireboxes developed to burn much cleaner and can reach efficiencies as large as 80 percent in heating the atmosphere. These altered fireplaces are often equipped with a massive fire window, allowing an efficient heating process in two stages. During the first stage the initial heat is provided through a large glass while the flame is burning. During this time the construction, built of refractory bricks, absorbs the warmth. This heat is then evenly radiated for several hours during the next phase. Masonry fireplaces without a glass fire window only offer heat radiated from the surface. Based on temperatures 1 to two daily firings are enough to ensure a constant room temperature.electric fireplaces